A Symbol of Peace
by sushidei
Summary: Prussia and Austria visit the Brandenburg Gate on the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Prussia/Austria


A/N: In commemoration of the twenty year aniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. There's some Prussia/Austria in there if you squint, too! Sorry for not including Germany in this one, I really wanted to, but it turned out failing.

DISCLAIMER: Hetalia doesn't belong to me. Sorry 'bout your luck.

HISTORICAL NOTES: Berlin was divided into four sections after the fall of Germany in WWII. Three of them were for the allies (West Berlin) and the rest was for the Soviet Union (East Berlin). In 1961, The Soviet Union put up a wall separating the East and West sections of Berlin, and it evolved into an intricate set of traps and watchtowers that we know as the Berlin Wall. East Germans were killed for crossing attempts, although many tried anyway due to the terrible conditions on the Eastern side. In 1989, after three weeks of unrest and a misunderstood radio announcement, East Germans quite literally ran to the wall in mobs, jumping over it and stampeding through checkpoints to see family and friends on the other side. No order was given to take lethal force against the citizens, so the East German guards let them pass with little to no opposition. The wall was torn down shortly after, and Germany officially re-unified a year later.

The Brandenburg Gate was a commissioned piece from Friedrich Wilhelm II to symbolise peace. During the building of the wall, the gate was caught in what was known as the "death strip," a place between the eastern and western parts of the Berlin Wall where no one was allowed to go, or else be killed.

And... Brüno is a movie produced by Sasha Baron Cohen, an Englishman. Just in case you were wondering :)

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Austria came into the room, not very surprised to see Prussia rather enthralled in a video game. He sighed and walked toward the albino, noting how disgusting it was for him to be sitting on the floor which had very obviously not been vacuumed in weeks.

"Do you have any idea what day it is?" Austria asked, crossing his arms.

"Dammit!" Prussia yelled, slamming the controller down onto the floor. "Now look what you made me do, West!" He turned to glare at his brother, but finding Austria there he huffed and turned back around, reaching out and turning off his X-box.

Austria rolled his eyes at the outburst, but a smile pulled at his lips all the same. "You're so immature," he chided, relaxing a bit.

"You're so immature," Prussia imitated, his voice rising to a level that the Austrian was sure only dogs could hear.

"I will inform you that I don't sound anything like that."

"You sure? Sounded pretty girly and annoying to me."

Austria clenched his fists, his patience with the other man running dangerously thin. "Do you want me to go then?"

Prussia scoffed, patting the ground next to him. "You've already made me lose. No point in leaving now."

"Glad to know I mean that much to you," Austria said, but remained standing. "I'm not going to sit on your rancid carpet, by the way. Doesn't Germany make you vacuum? It seems he would be anal about these types of things."

"Haha! You said _anal,_" Prussia laughed, pointing at the other man in a childish manner.

"Oh, you're so immature!" Austria squeaked, a light blush spreading over his cheeks. "That's not what I meant!"

Prussia's laughter died down and he held out his hands in silent apology. "Take it easy, Austria, I'm just foolin' around." Prussia stood up and walked to his bedroom door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway. "C'mon, let's go somewhere more 'dignified' so the mighty Austria doesn't have to set his royal ass on any 'unclean surfaces.'"

Grumbling, Austria complied, following the Prussian out of the house and onto the street.

The sun was just going down on Berlin, making the air chilled with an evening crispness. The buildings were just starting to be lit up with lamps and spotlights, and people were hurrying towards the centre of the commotion, to where just twenty years ago, they would have been killed for entering.

"I'll ask you again," Austria said, wrapping his scarf more securely around his neck to fight off the bitter November air, "Do you know what day it is?"

Prussia laughed. "Hell, Austria, I may not be as educated as you are, but I'm not dumb enough to not know what day it is." He pointed ahead of him, gesturing towards the approaching space wildly. "It's been twenty years since that Russian bastard just couldn't contain my awesomeness anymore!"

"Well I wouldn't say _that…_"

"What the hell do you mean, Austria? I mean, did you ever hear about it? It was awesome! We practically stampeded those guards coming out of that hell-hole."

"Oh I heard about it all right," Austria said, stuffing his gloved hands into his pockets. "I was there as soon as your brother called me. I remember you sleeping in his room, all skinny and pale. He told me that you had practically eaten everything in the house, demanding pastries and some decent wurst."

"Well why don't you try not having anything decent for twenty some years and see how _you_ come out of it," Prussia huffed, the warm air creating a cloud in front of his face.

"I doubt as good as you fared, I'm sure," Austria said, laughing a bit. His expression soon changed, however, and his tone became stern. "It was a long time… I'm glad it's over."

Prussia looked out of the corner of his eye at the bespeckled man, surprise written on his expression at Austria's admission. He stopped walking and looked up to see the Brandenburg Gate, proudly standing after all these years, illuminated beautifully for the night. He leaned back a bit, just enough so that he could see the tip of the chariot at the top. "You know this is a Prussian monument?" He said, his voice laced with patriotism. "It was supposed to be a symbol of peace, if I remember that fat old man correctly."

Austria rolled his eyes at Prussia referring to his former king in such a manner, but chose not to voice his opinion; it was far too rare for him to see Prussia serious like this, and he wanted to enjoy the other nation's newfound dignity for as long as it lasted.

Prussia looked down at Austria, his lips curved into a slight frown. "It's ironic… what was supposed to be a symbol of peace was hidden in a death strip."

The Austrian's eyes widened behind his glasses, and he looked to see the other man staring longingly to the other side of the gate. He took his hands out of his pockets and touched Prussia's shoulder reassuringly.

"But look at you _now_," he said, violent eyes boring into red. "Your people are _here_, walking freely among what used to be forbidden to them. You took back your land, treaties be damned. And you're still here, stubborn and annoying as ever. Just look at these people: conceited and daft, they think they can do anything just because they knocked down some stupid wall."

Prussia laughed, his hand reaching up to cover the one Austria had laid on his shoulder.

"And Austrians are any better? What with their music and their Brüno and their Mariazell." His hand reached out for the particular hair, but Austria grabbed it protectively.

"Don't you touch Mariazell!" He squeaked, face turning red.

Prussia laughed again, waving his hand in front of him to show he meant no harm.

"And Brüno is an English movie, not Austrian, you dolt," the shorter man defended, removing his hand from his hair. "I _do_ have a little taste, you know."

Prussia smiled, squeezing Austria's hand before removing his own from on top of it. He sighed happily and turned towards the gate, people bustling in and out of it as they celebrated their freedom.

"Thanks for coming today," He said, and even though it was barely above a whisper, Austria heard it.

Austria smiled, and stepped just a hair closer to the other nation. "No… thank you for coming back to us," he whispered. "Thank you for breaking down that wall."

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